Beck’s dream ticket: Allen West/Michele Bachmann

posted at 8:03 pm on April 12, 2011 by Allahpundit

Via the Blaze, as fanciful tickets go, this one might be a smidge more popular with grassroots conservatives than the Huckabee/Trump pairing. I understand why he chose West, who’s a rock star among rock stars, but I’m surprised that he’d opt for Bachmann over Palin given their high-profile appearances together last year in D.C. and Alaska. He doesn’t sugar-coat his reasoning either with some variation of “she’s too big for the office.” His argument, essentially, is that the media wrecking ball has done real damage to her image and that she hasn’t repaired it sufficiently to be viable. That’s a standard read on her for a centrist conservative but not typical of someone who’s keynoted CPAC recently. Makes me wonder what’ll happen on the right if Bachmann formally announces and then Palin jumps in later this year, jolting the race. Will Palin overwhelm her with name recognition, or will Beck-ian logic rally tea partiers behind Bachmann as the (marginally) more electable of the two? Tough choices.

And speaking of Huckabee and Trump, the Donald wasn’t the only important meeting that Huck’s had in NYC lately. According to Politico, he’s feeling out wealthy donors to see if the money will be there should he choose to dive in. When you’re in or near the lead in every major poll, I guess it’s hard to say no. The next “dream” ticket on the horizon: Huckabee/Barbour?

Blowback

Trackbacks/Pings

Comments

or will Beck-ian logic rally tea partiers behind Bachmann as the (marginally) more electable of the two? Tough choices.

Don’t see how anyone can really argue that – it’s not like Bachmann hasn’t got the same treatment – it just hasn’t been dialed up as high as Palin but if she runs & becomes more prominent it will. Palin’s got a better resume though, hands down.

Bachmann’s viewed little more favorably than Ann Coulter…can’t imagine she’d have a chance on the top of the ticket, and I think she’d end up being baggage to whoever she ran with. She’s a mouthpiece, not a leader. Rubio would be a better choice, even if he is earning RINO cred.

As much as I like West and Bachman, neither are ready to lead a ticket. West isn’t even trying, to his credit, all though, like most here on HotAir, my dream ticket would be Palin/West.

And another thing, people don’t always run to win, unlike Palin. Some run to build up national ticket cred for the future, some to hopefully land a job in the winning administration. If you run and lose I believe you also get to keep any leftover funds you raise, another incentive.

Sorry, MC. I’ve listened to my party for over 50 years telling me that conservatives can’t get elected, we need to run “reasonable” Republicans who are “moderate”. To which I say – with all due respect – screw the RINOs. If the Republican party is stupid enough to run more RINOs it won’t really matter which party wins. I’ll do my part by staying home on election day. I WILL NOT SUPPORT ANOTHER RINO. Period.

Beck and Palin are very close. She is the one politician he asked to speak at his Restoring Honor ralley. He also happens to be one of the few high profile conservatives more hated and controversial then her. It is my feeling that they talked after the ralley last fall and agreed that if she was going to run, she would have to distance herself from him. Being Sarah Palin is enough. Being Glenn Beck endorsed Sarah Palin is too much. I still think she is who he wants as the nominee. Just mho.

I don’t care what the polls say. Huck has the heart & soul (and the modest intellectual gifts) of a liberal, and if conservatives don’t get it now, they will during the debates & primaries, and there is no way he will come close to the nomination. No chance, especially now with the libertarian movement taking on the most prominent role it has ever had within the broader right-wing movement; we will never accept a nanny-statist like Huck telling us what to do.

Sorry, MC. I’ve listened to my party for over 50 years telling me that conservatives can’t get elected, we need to run “reasonable” Republicans who are “moderate”. To which I say – with all due respect – screw the RINOs. If the Republican party is stupid enough to run more RINOs it won’t really matter which party wins. I’ll do my part by staying home on election day. I WILL NOT SUPPORT ANOTHER RINO. Period.

oldleprechaun on April 12, 2011 at 8:16 PM

I’m not saying that conservatives get elected. West can. Bachmann can’t. Conservatism needs the proper kind of delivery. Bachmann’s a little too shrill.

Beck and Palin are very close. She is the one politician he asked to speak at his Restoring Honor ralley. He also happens to be one of the few high profile conservatives more hated and controversial then her. It is my feeling that they talked after the ralley last fall and agreed that if she was going to run, she would have to distance herself from him. Being Sarah Palin is enough. Being Glenn Beck endorsed Sarah Palin is too much. I still think she is who he wants as the nominee. Just mho.

When questioned by O’Donnell about her thoughts on Bachmann’s address-of-the-address and how what she said tied into McCain’s longstanding criticism of divisive rhetoric – both between parties and within the GOP itself – McCain dismissed Bachmann as being “no better than a poor man’s Sarah Palin.” She then called her “one rogue woman,” which was, really, a rather interesting word choice.

So there you have it, naysayers and critics. Bachmann was addressing a specific impoverished man during her speech last night. She gives and she gives and you all just take and take and mock.

I believe it is you who is not paying attention. No one, and that includes Col. West (as much as I love the guy), Mrs. Bachmann, Mr. Trump, that other guy with the spectacular hair, is kicking the snot out of Barack Obama like Mrs. Palin.

For all intents and purposes, she contributes more to the policy of the White House with her two thumbs flying across a mini keyboard than all of Barry O’s advisers combined.

When she announces, and she will, and goes full throttle on this piece of garbage we have squatting in the White House there will be no doubt whatsoever who the best candidate is for the job.

Agreed… Rubio on the bottom, and Pawlenty or someone else with board appeal on top. Bachmann, Palin, Bolton, etc., would guarantee a second Obama term.

DaveS on April 12, 2011 at 8:30 PM

Rubio on the ticket would horrify the MSM. I saw a pretty fair analysis of the “swing states” and no matter how they tried to spin it, Florida for Obama is not going to happen, and they said it would be disaster if “somehow the Republicans got more leverage with Hispanics”.

I was totally turned off of Bachmann last week. She was on all of the shows talking about how we needed to come to an agreement, all the while admitting how she was going to vote no on any budget bill because it didn’t defund Obamacare. If that is your stance fine, but then don’t go around talking about a give and take on a budget. She just came off like a big fat hypocrite. I didn’t like it and it didn’t make me want to vote for her to be my president.

I love Sarah, but Michelle Bachmann is a tax attorney. Do you have any idea how smart you have to be, to be a tax attorney? Tax attorneys are to lawyers as engineering physicists are to engineers. In addition to all of her other qualities Bachmann has an indisputably first class intellect.

We have ONE serious candidate who has executive experience and who will go after 0 and make him long to be anonymous once again and that is Palin. She’s not afraid of the heat she’ll get, she’s the only one we have who has been battle tested. Look at what she accomplished in the 2010 election.

Her troops from O4P are organizing in all the important states. Iowa, NH, SC, NY, CA, and soom everywhere. All this is below the radar. Those guys think she is running even if they don’t know for sure. Palin is a pro, the rest are like amatuers. Nobody has instincts like her and when she’s ready she’ll make her move. She is the GOP elephant in the room. When she makes her move the rest will start to scatter.

Be sure that Allen West is the #1 choice for the VP ticket for any republican who wins the nomination. West on the ticket brings a 99% chance for victory for the candidate who wins the Republican Primary.

Her troops from O4P are organizing in all the important states. Iowa, NH, SC, NY, CA, and soom everywhere. All this is below the radar. Those guys think she is running even if they don’t know for sure. Palin is a pro, the rest are like amatuers. Nobody has instincts like her and when she’s ready she’ll make her move. She is the GOP elephant in the room. When she makes her move the rest will start to scatter.

LTC Allen West is a helluva guy. He’s a standout man among men (men in the Army, not in the POTUS race). I’d vote for that guy just to get the chance to help him carry 2 gas cans through hell.

Sir, lace up your jump boots, get JMPI’d and keep your feet n’ knees together. See you on the DZ.

ted c on April 12, 2011 at 8:14 PM

OF COURSE West is all that. He’s a leader.

But he’s not a winning nominee for a Presidential election from the GOP.

We have to actually WIN the election to get the current mess out of the White House.

That means, we, the GOP, have to run a nominee for the Presidency in 2012 who will WIN the election, not just satisfy certain groups’ desires to see their views chimed back at them.

The people who vote determine the election results. A variety of people who vote determine the election results, not just a group here and there…and branching out of the secured voting groups to offer a nominee to the Middle of the electorate is what determines the election. I don’t happen to be happy about that but that’s the way things are, that’s how the elections work.

This is good press for Allen West as well. He is a favorite of Michael Savage and obviously a favorite of Beck’s. Both are Conservatives with Capital C’s in my opinion, and have the 3rd and 4th highest radio audience I believe.

If Allen West was not the number 1 choice for VP for any candidate, then I would be shocked quite honestly.

We have ONE serious candidate who has executive experience and who will go after 0 and make him long to be anonymous once again and that is Palin

Well, one of her closest political allies has been Governor of Texas for ELEVEN years and has no love for Zero, either. Wonder how her throwing all her support behind him would go over. Perry/Rubio. That would be some ticket that would make some libs worried about the Hispanic voting block quiver.

I love Sarah, but Michelle Bachmann is a tax attorney. Do you have any idea how smart you have to be, to be a tax attorney? Tax attorneys are to lawyers as engineering physicists are to engineers. In addition to all of her other qualities Bachmann has an indisputably first class intellect.

Basilsbest on April 12, 2011 at 8:42 PM

I agree with you, Basilsbest. Many people do, too. It’s just that the fervent commentors on the internet are of a saturated kind and they are decidedly not thinking things too far past the shiny-new-must-have perspective.

Know what would happen with a Hispanic on the Republican ticket? Biden would get dumped, that is what would happen.

Marcus on April 12, 2011 at 8:43 PM

That is the first new thing anyone has said today.

You might be right.

I could go for one of these newbies as VP as long as the Top of the ticket was very healthy. In fact that might be the only way for Palin to re-enter politics and gain the experience and credibility she needs.

But if Rubio was the VP it would certainly shake things up in the country.

Why aren’t more people asking Obama if he is dropping Biden?

Of course Biden does provide protection against impeachment. But Obama is getting bad enough that even a Biden Presidency doesn’t sound as bad.

I’d absolutely LOVE West, but as VP rather than top of the ticket. While his command time in the Army certainly counts highly for his leadership qualities and executive experience, he is very new to the slimy quagmire of elected office. I’d rather see him as VP for two terms before his own two terms as President.

As much as I like Bachmann, she has NO executive experience whatsoever. She might be an effective legislator and a brilliant lawyer, but those are NOT necessarily qualities of an excellent chief executive/CiC/President. Different skill set, imho.

In the general, I’d vote for a GOP grilled cheese sandwich rather than Obama, though only a couple of GOP possibilities will get my time and money as well.

But in the primary, I’m only interested in former governors with credible records of accomplishment, strong personal convictions and an ability to take the fight to Obama.

His act grew one-note and his ratings dropped. His contract was coming due. Ailes is a businessman. End of story.

His increasing focus on religion was the real problem. I think you can correlate its rise with his decline in ratings.

…Beck disappoints in his surrender to this false and defeatist narrative.

rrpjr on April 12, 2011 at 8:56 PM

The day that Beck started spitting out the word, “Birthers” like he was cursing a rock is the day his problems with the FOX show began.

Same with FOX. Same with certain websites. Denigrating these questions about Obama’s identity and those who pose them (or try to) as “Birthers” as if they were sub-human scum is the unpopular, when it comes to broadcasting and media, thing to do.

One can find the inquiries fruitless but denigrating people who do not is not the way to maintain credibility. It hurt Beck immensely as to his credibility when he began that pitch of his, same as to O’Reilly. They remain “popular,” yes, but not “as popular” except as targets to the Left to attack — and without a certain level of support from the rest, they are not defended. Having insulted a lot of people by denigrating “them” as “Birthers” was the low point for both and certainly for Beck. Same as to Coulter, for that matter, and Karl Rove.

He doesn’t sugar-coat his reasoning either with some variation of “she’s too big for the office.” His argument, essentially, is that the media wrecking ball has done real damage to her image and that she hasn’t repaired it sufficiently to be viable.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The exact reason I WILL VOTE FOR NO ONE OTHER THAN PALIN…

“West/Bachmann 2012, Like Goldwater II, but this time we don’t even want to win the deep south.”

jarodea on April 12, 2011 at 9:00 PM

Allen West mom is from south georgia and he was raised on the rougher side of town in Atlanta. Everybody from the South loves this man. Plus the black community needs a strong male figure like West who is a self made man and who does not play the race or victim card.